Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich believes too much attention is being paid to the fiscal cliff and the nation’s budget troubles, saying that if the country refocused on innovation, it would lead to an economic explosion that would pave a bright future for the nation.
In an interview with Newsmax TV, Gingrich said too much attention is being focused on the budget. Instead of focusing all the attention on controlling spending, Congress should also view the budget as a document that has the right investments to put America on a solid future.
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“I helped balance (the) budget in less than 10 years,” Gingrich said. “It took an enormous struggle, but our goal wasn’t just to control spending. We doubled funding to the National Institutes of Health because we thought medical research was very important. If brain research breaks through, you just did more to change (the) budget in 50 years than anyone.”
Gingrich believes more lawmakers in Washington should view the budget as a plan that will give America a brighter future.
“The crisis is totally mindless. We need to get the politicians out of the way and focus on the great pioneers reinventing America. We can get to the moon in 10-15 percent of cost NASA has budgeted. We’re seeing explosion of natural gas despite the government. I can’t tell you how tired I am of Republicans who are green eye shade accountants,” he said.
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Gingrich believes the key to this success is envisioning breakthroughs that will have a good chance at prompting an economic revolution.
“If you get to driverless cars, we’ll do more to take costs out of the economy than anything Congress can do.”
Speaking on the Catholic Church and its new Pope, Gingrich expects that Francis will challenge conventional wisdom on both sides of the institution.
“I think he will challenge the right and the secular left. He’s going to stand for right to life and traditional marriage. He will also challenge the right because he cares deeply about the poor and he will engage those who believe in right to life to say that you also need to ensure a great quality of life.”
In a wide ranging interview, Gingrich also spoke on:
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Education.
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The rising stars of the Republican Party.
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